In opening statements, prosecutors told jurors in the first-degree murder trial of Dustin D. Walker Monday that the Lawrence resident shot Patrick Roberts while trying to rob him, while the defense questioned the credibility of witnesses in the case.

Assistant Douglas County District Attorney Alice Walker set forth the state’s theory that Dustin Walker, 30, shot Roberts, 39, of Lawrence, after kicking in the door to his Cedarwood Apartments duplex and confronting him along with Dustin Walker’s co-defendant Archie L. Robinson during the early morning of March 8, 2014.

Dustin D. Walker

The assistant D.A. said Dustin Walker and Robinson entered the home to rob Roberts, an alleged marijuana dealer. At a preliminary hearing, Roberts’ son Michael said he saw two men enter his duplex, ask Roberts, “Where is it?” and heard a gunshot. Roberts later died of his injuries.

Roberts was shot through the front right side of his abdomen, and the bullet exited through the back left side, the assistant D.A. said. The gunshot went through his liver and pancreas. The 9 mm handgun used to shoot Roberts belonged to Dustin Walker’s girlfriend, Asia Morrison, prosecutors said.

Dustin Walker’s attorney, Sarah Swain, countered by telling the jury Monday to “pay very close attention” to conflicting testimonies of Roberts’ relatives this week. Roberts’ brother Wayne Roberts and son Michael Roberts are expected to recount this week the events that they say led up to the fatal shooting.

Swain tried to cast doubt on Wayne Roberts’ credibility, highlighting his criminal record, including “six convictions for crimes of dishonesty.”

“I ask you to take that into consideration as you hear his many different versions (of the shooting),” Swain said.

If a jury does not find Dustin Walker guilty of murder, it has the option to find him guilty in two alternate charges of aggravated burglary or aggravated robbery.

A jury acquitted Dustin Walker in 2011 on charges connected to his alleged role in a December 2010 shooting at South Pointe Apartments, 2310 W. 26th St. Dustin Walker was charged with attempted second-degree murder and possessing a firearm as a felon after Darrick Dew was shot during a large party at an apartment.

In 2008, Dustin Walker was suspected in a shooting and robbery at a Lawrence apartment that resulted in a Lawrence man being shot in the leg. But in 2011, Douglas County prosecutors dismissed the case before it went to trial. Douglas County District Attorney Charles Branson said afterward that both the victim and witness were unable to recall the incident, precluding prosecutors from pursuing the case.

Dustin Walker remains in jail on a $1 million bond. His jury trial is expected to last five days.